Gov’t must account for premium on pump price
The global crude oil price is now US$36 barrel. In contrast, the local pump price is still relatively high at RM1.80/litre – despite a fifth reduction in price on 15 December since a 41 per cent hike in June.
It’s obvious that the pump price is now higher than the real market price; in other words, the higher price is a form of consumer tax (as opposed to a subsidy previously). Now, it is the government’s prerogative if it wants to impose this kind of tax.
But what is it going to do with this surplus?
“It never happened. Nothing ever happened”
It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis. – Harold Pinter, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Harold Pinter, who passed away on Christmas Eve, was well known for his plays. But the corporate media have downplayed his role as one of the most prominent opponents of the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. His words on how politicians and the mainstream media often try to blank out monumental or historic events from the public consciousness have relevance for us in Malaysia, where official news reports are often at sharp odds with what really happened. Politicians, he observed, are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power. “To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives.” “Sometimes,” he asserted, “a writer has to smash the mirror – for it is on the other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us.” This was Pinter’s Nobel lecture:
Art, Truth & Politics
In 1958 I wrote the following: ‘There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.’ I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false?Palestinian Christians face eviction from Bethlehem
As we remember the birth of Jesus, it may have escaped our notice that the little town of Bethlehem, his birthplace which lies in Palestinian territory, is now cut off by a 4-metre high Israeli security wall on three sides.
Palestinian Christians also have to contend with demolition and eviction orders issued by Israeli occupation forces.
Over in the Gaza strip, which is now under an Israeli siege, many Palestinian Christians have been denied access to Bethlehem even as the town welcomes foreign tourists.
This report from Al Jazeera:
So this is Christmas – when they have to guard the milk…
If I was a desperate parent, I would be tempted to steal milk too. One pack of full cream milk powder ( 2 kg) costs RM 42. My youngest son consumes more than 4 kg (2 packs) per month. Add 4 tins cereal, it costs more than RM100 to feed him. My pension is only RM 1200.Could an economic system that allows such a situation to persist be considered just? Meanwhile, R Ganesh reports from KL: The proposed privatisation of Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) appears to have not taken into much consideration the basic survival of the poor and the middle class. They would be hit if IJN becomes private. Already, many low-income folk are finding it difficult to cope with high food prices. Many are now finding that their low wages are insufficient for them to live in dignity given the high cost of living and inflation. The threshold for survival for a family of four is probably in the region of RM2,000 to 3,000. But how many of us actually earn that amount of money? With reference to your post on the Chicken Thief, what is rather shocking now is that when you go to certain supermarkets, you may now see a security guard in the milk aisle/dairy section. Previously, the guards would be keeping an eye on the liquor section.
Who’s behind Sime Darby?
Of late Sime Darby has been very much in the news with its proposed – and then postponed – IJN takeover and now with a proposed new low-cost carrier airport in Negri Sembilan.
While many have questioned the economic feasibility and viability of a new airport so close to the present Kuala Lumpur International Airport, nothing much has been said about the environmental impact of having two large airports so close to each other (not to mention global warming).
So who exactly is behind Sime Darby? According to its 2008 Annual Report, its substantial shareholders are:
- Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera – 34%
- EPF – 14%
- PNB – 15%
- Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera – 15% (deemed interest)
Who is the real man – Rambo or RPK?
Malaysia’s polar opposite non-violent answer to Rambo
Photo by Rakyat@work
The Man With D Video Cam tells us why he thinks we have “the real deal” in our midst: Rambo is a film character, a man with bulging muscles brandishing a serrated knife and creating havoc among his enemies. In the world of make believe, Rambo has drawn quite a following. Men who walk around, exhibiting a bulky load of muscles with women clinging to either arm are the real men in this fanciful, make-believe world. Driving fast cars with branded sunglasses, they saunter around as if the world is their playground. In contrast, what I have is a comfortable car that can still provide me with an uninterrupted journey to my destination and a woman who will stand by me – come what may. This is my world and I love it! But there are still many things missing in my life. I want to live in the real world, which is more interesting and exciting than any imaginary world, which can be so deceiving.
If a UN Special Rapporteur can be humiliated…
If a United Nations Special Rapporteur from the United States can be humiliated this way, what hope do the suffering citizens of Gaza, which now resembles a vast open-air prison camp, have?
This report from The Guardian:
My expulsion from Israel When I arrived in Israel as a UN representative I knew there might be problems at the airport. And there were by Richard Falk On December 14, I arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel to carry out my UN role as special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories.
PJ vigil spot turns into rakyat’s Speakers’ Corner
Photo by Rakyat@work
Give details of PFI for Sime Darby/Air Asia airport
First, Sime Bank tak boleh tahan.
Then, Sime Darby turns down Bakun undersea cables project – cannot make money-lah.
Next, public outcry forces postponement of IJN privatisation.
Now, it’s a new low-cost carrier (LCC) airport in Negri Sembilan.
The government has given the green light for a RM1.6 billion low-cost carrier airport, about 20km away from the KLIA. It will be built by Sime Darby and Air Asia under a private finance initiative (PFI).
The rationale is that the KLIA cannot cope with the expected influx of LCC passengers. (Didn’t Mahathir say, when he tried to justify the KLIA, that it was being built to meet the country’s needs for the next 100 years? What about Subang – is it now fully utilised?)
The government must give us details of what kind of PFI is involved. Will any government or public money be indirectly used for this project?
What Sime Darby was eyeing in IJN
The government-owned National Heart Institute (IJN) is in the midst of a RM230 million expansion plan – that would be public money – to buy more equipment and to build a new wing, which would be completed next year.
This from The Edge:
The new wing would give it an additional 192 beds, four new operating theatre complexes, new intensive care units and coronary care units, dialysis centre, health screening centres, cafes and shops, according to the website.Apparently, the plan was for Sime Darby to ride on IJN’s reputation, painstakingly built by the government and the IJN team over the years, and its “captive market” as a base to draw more patients – locally and from the region (medical tourism) – possibly into a private wing. From another Edge report:
Citizen Journalism 101 training in Penang
Malaysiakini and Seacem are jointly organising a certified video journalism course in Penang over four weekends. Scholarships worth RM3,000 are being offered to suitable participants.
Training objectives:
* To empower trainees through experiential training and give them the knowledge, technical skills and networks necessary for them to address issues of importance
* To encourage diversity, tolerance, acceptance, unity and democracy
Details:
* Practical workshops held every fortnight (four weekends) for two months – 10.00am till 6.00pm in the Aliran building.
* Workshops will focus on reporting skills and the production of video news content
Courses:
* Citizen Journalism
* Scriptwriting for Documentaries
* Video Editing
* Video Camera
Here’s why the Chee Seng residents are worried
Photos sent in by a concerned Tanjung Bunga resident
From these two pictures of the Bolton Surin project in Tanjong Bunga, Penang, you can get an idea why the Chee Seng residents (living on the left in the top photo) are worried and want the project stopped.
IJN privatisation postponed: Umno elite out of touch
The sudden postponement of the scheme to privatise the National Heart Institute (IJN) suggests that the government under-estimated the depth of public opposition to the move.
The postponement comes just a day after Najib revealed that the green light had been given to Sime Darby to acquire a majority stake.
The Umno elite appear to be out of touch not only with the masses but also with their own BN component parties such as the MCA, which is opposing the privatisation. Or were they just testing the waters (to gauge public reaction), as some of you suggest?
To me, the real heroes are the 33 IJN specialists (out of a total of 35) who stood up to oppose the move. Their stand is all the more commendable as chances are they would have stood to gain in terms of a more lucrative pay package. It is great to know there are public-spirited specialists in Malaysia, for whom money is not everything – something which the corporate predators find hard to understand.
Mysterious masked man who took a stand for justice
Jerit cyclists reach Parliament
1212: Some 120 Jerit cyclists are now in Parliament, where they will be having lunch and handing over their memorandums to a rep from the BN and the Opposition. It’s mission accomplished! Congratulations to the Jerit team.
1145: About 30 participants of the Jerit cycling teams are now in Parliament to hand in their memorandum amidst a heavy police presence, including a helicopter clattering overhead.
Earlier they were barred from cycling to Parliament. “The OCPD told us we could head to Parliament, but not on our bicycles,” says Jerit coordinator Rani Rasiah.
Abolish ISA Mass prays for a more just judiciary
The series of Abolish ISA Masses at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Penang will be taking a break for Christmas and will resume next year.
In the last Abolish ISA Mass for the year, parish priest Fr Marshall Fernandez exhorted the congregation of 80 gathered tonight to pray for a more just judiciary.
Referring to the recent controversy between Karpal and Chief Justice Zaki, Marshall said that a cleaner judiciary would provide justice for all.
Meanwhile, all the prayers and various campaigns to Abolish the ISA and free the detainees are having an impact.
An extraordinary cycling odyssey reaches its climax
Tomorrow, the Jerit cyclists are due to submit their memorandums to Abdullah Badawi and Anwar in Parliament
Sarawak Deputy CM trumpets RM52m Salcra dividend
Here’s something that an analyst sent to me. The Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) is a government statutory body charged with developing native customary rights (NCR) land in a bid to improve the lot of rural communities in the state. As you can see below, the figures bandied about raise all sorts of questions.
Sarawak Deputy CM Alfred Jabu is also Minister for Infrastructure Development and Communication/Minister for Rural Development as well as Salcra chairman.
On 30 Nov, Alfred Jabu made a big deal about the RM52 million to be paid out as dividends for 2008 to the 16,480 participants in Salcra oil palm land development schemes, and he lambasted Dayak NGOs for their criticisms. But a simple division will show that this dividend payout amounts to the grand sum of RM3,155 per participant for the year, or an average of RM263 per month. According to Salcra’s own figures, the total land area under management amounted to 48,700 hectares. Let us assume a low yield of 15 tonnes per hectare, and a mean cost per tonne of RM200. Going by MPOB figures, the mean FFB price/tonne for 2008 is around RM600. Then Salcra should have netted RM292 million for 2008. This translates to an average net earnings of RM17,731 per participant, or around RM1,500 per month. In the announcement, DCM Jabu mentioned that another RM22 million had been set aside for loan re-payment. So, total net balance, after dividends and loan re-payments, should have amounted to RM218 million, or RM13,240 per participant. So, where did that go to? Even if we allow for a withholding of 50 per cent to allow for re-investment and re-planting, that would still amount to RM109 million or RM6,620 per participant to be accounted for. Given these figures, the Dayak NGOs are perfectly entitled to question the benefit of Salcra. Without any explanation for this balance of RM218 million, DCM Jabu has no call to lambast those NGOs. Footnote: If the participants had managed their own average holding (average of 3 hectares each), they would have netted RM17,731 in 2008, on the above assumptions instead of RM3,155 in dividend (per participant).I have tabulated the above information as follows. :
Chee Seng residents want Bolton’s Surin project stopped
Scary hill-slope project in Chee Seng Gardens, Penang
Residents want the project stopped
This is a message from George Aeria of Chee Seng Gardens, which covers the Old Chee Seng Gardens, the newer parts (houses built by Leader Gardens), Straits Regency, Coastal Towers, Twin Towers and Marina Towers.
The residents are upset with the Bolton Surin project undertaken by GLM Property on a steep hill-slope, which has previously resulted in flooding in the area. They are also asking the Penang state government to emulate the stand taken by their counterparts in Selangor with regard to Class III and Class IV hill slopes.
Over 80 residents attended a meeting on 13 December with the main press in attendance. “YB Teh gave a short speech and took several questions and his message that we got is YAB Lim Guan Eng is not going to be on the side of the residents and will be alowing the Class IV hill slope construction to continue,” said Aeria.
“We have told him that if he does not stop the developers, then our vote for change has come to naught, i.e. we wanted the Gerakan and Umno government of Penang out and wanted DAP to start controlling the developers but if he does not, then we will NOT support the DAP government.”
The residents told the state government reps that if they do not stop Class IV hill-slope construction, they would support any other party, including the BN i.e. they would play off one party against the other.
We, the residents of Chee Seng Gardens, who started the fight to get the stop work order in Sept 2008 are now pushing for the project (Bolton Surin) to be stopped altogether as the hill slope is really very steep (above 60 degrees and maybe more). The recent Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy has shown us that no hill can be developed; (neither can) a slope so steep be made to just stay steep without falling down some time in the future.
The failed US occupation of Iraq
The front page of today’s Sun shows George Bush ducking as an Iraqi journalist hurls a shoe at him.
That may be surprising if you are following the global television stations, which tell us that the situation in Iraq is improving for the occupying powers as the worst of the carnage since the Anglo-American invasion subsides.
Some 1.3 million people have perished in Iraq as a result of the invasion – so you can understand why George Bush is not the Iraqis’ most favourite person.
The lower level of carnage now does not translate to victory for the United States as this Counter Punch commentary reveals:
It’s All Spelled Out in Unpublicised Agreement Total Defeat for U.S. in Iraq By PATRICK COCKBURN